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Saturday, April 5, 2014
Carson Vs. Letterman
For nostalgia's sake, with David Letterman announcing his retirement from The Late Show, here's one of my favorite clips from the The Tonight Show of Letterman suing Johnny Carson, Judge Wapner presiding:
I haven't watched Letterman regularly since about 2001. I still enjoy the bits that I see and I almost always find him smart and engaging and funny. Even those times when he had to deal publicly with weird stuff, like the blackmail thing, I thought he handled the matters with dignity and humor. But as I say, haven't been a regular viewer for a while.
When I was a teen and in my twenties, however, The Tonight Show and Late Night were regular viewings almost every night. I loved the old NBC show Letterman did - so weird, so inventive, so cranky and unique and funny. There was nothing else like it at the time and it really stood out. Monkey cam, velcro man, throwing stuff off a building, going into Live at Five just for the hell of it, Larry Bud Melman - great stuff. And the comedians that would be on both Carson and Letterman, wow - it was just a great time if you enjoyed stand-up.
I feel a little sad at the news - Carson's dead almost ten years, off the air more than 20. Now Letterman's going and I must say, other than Craig Ferguson (who I find truly inventive and unique too), the current crop of talk show hosts on the networks and cable leaves me cold. Fallon in particular I find too unctuous and desperate to please. I guess I prefer the cooler, more detached Carson/Letterman style of talk show.
I loved Letterman on his old NBC show. But when he started Late Night, he was hilarious. He would drive around towns in NJ and knock of doors, sometimes with Paul Newman, asking if they could come in or do yard work. His Top 10 used to be funnier. But I did like him over Jay, although Jay had funny opening bits. But I did not like the way Jay tried to blackmail guests if they appeared on Letterman. Dave even was a guest of Kimmel's late night show welcoming him into the fold. Kimmel is funny. And his bits with my Education Hero, Matt Damon, is so funny. If you get a chance, you should watch the video of Matt's speech at the SOS Save Our Schools march on Washington. I was there with Norm.
How strange to have enjoyed both these men and see another era come to an end.
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched Letterman regularly since about 2001. I still enjoy the bits that I see and I almost always find him smart and engaging and funny. Even those times when he had to deal publicly with weird stuff, like the blackmail thing, I thought he handled the matters with dignity and humor. But as I say, haven't been a regular viewer for a while.
DeleteWhen I was a teen and in my twenties, however, The Tonight Show and Late Night were regular viewings almost every night. I loved the old NBC show Letterman did - so weird, so inventive, so cranky and unique and funny. There was nothing else like it at the time and it really stood out. Monkey cam, velcro man, throwing stuff off a building, going into Live at Five just for the hell of it, Larry Bud Melman - great stuff. And the comedians that would be on both Carson and Letterman, wow - it was just a great time if you enjoyed stand-up.
I feel a little sad at the news - Carson's dead almost ten years, off the air more than 20. Now Letterman's going and I must say, other than Craig Ferguson (who I find truly inventive and unique too), the current crop of talk show hosts on the networks and cable leaves me cold. Fallon in particular I find too unctuous and desperate to please. I guess I prefer the cooler, more detached Carson/Letterman style of talk show.
It's the end of an era.
I loved Letterman on his old NBC show. But when he started Late Night, he was hilarious. He would drive around towns in NJ and knock of doors, sometimes with Paul Newman, asking if they could come in or do yard work. His Top 10 used to be funnier. But I did like him over Jay, although Jay had funny opening bits. But I did not like the way Jay tried to blackmail guests if they appeared on Letterman. Dave even was a guest of Kimmel's late night show welcoming him into the fold. Kimmel is funny. And his bits with my Education Hero, Matt Damon, is so funny. If you get a chance, you should watch the video of Matt's speech at the SOS Save Our Schools march on Washington. I was there with Norm.
DeleteI forgot about that! Driving around with Newman - yeah, those were great spots!
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